Saturday, 28 July 2012

When the Indiegogo reaches $2,000, I'll post another full patron. Any requests as to which patron it should be? Pesh Joomang is out, because posting him would violate our "not included anywhere else" line. Other than that, who would you like to learn more about?

Friday, 27 July 2012

If you are sitting on the fence regarding Angels, Daemons, and Beings Between: A Patrons Sourcebook for DCC RPG (Indiegogo here), please allow me to include an example of what you might find in the book. Be aware that this is a pre-edited version, without art, and not yet having gone through the Goodman Games approval process (which, by the way, ensures that the final product will meet quality standards, and I, for one, appreciate it every time I buy a DCC product!).

Please help us meet our initial goal, and help us reach at least some distance into our stretch goals! If you cannot help directly, please help spread the word. I believe strongly in this project, and I really want to bring you the best patron book possible.

There will be wording in the patron book to allow Goodman Games, as well as any publication through the free Goodman Games DCC license, to use up to 2 patrons from this book in any given product, reproducing as much of the patron write-up as necessary to do so. So, it is hoped that this book will be a benefit to the entire community, and become a must-have reference book that we can all use to build our shared campaign worlds.

Without further ado, the draft version of Hecate, Goddess of Witches.

Hecate, Goddess of
Witches

Since
ancient times, the Witch-Goddess Hecate has interfered in human affairs. What Her actual interest is remains
unknown, but it is certain that She intercedes on behalf of some witches as
well as on behalf of those Wizards and Elves She patronizes.

Hecate
appears most often in one of three guises:
A young and beautiful maiden, a motherly matron, and an old
iron-toothed crone, which symbolize the three phases of the moon. She also appears betimes as the dark of the
moon – invisible save as a dark whisper and a foul breath rank with decay.

Hecate
acts as patrons for both male and female Wizards, but prefers females to
males. An Elf or Wizard who casts
Patron Bond to secure a compact with Hecate gains a +2 bonus if the subject
of the spell (herself or another) is female and a –4 penalty if the subject
is male. This same modifier is also
used whenever one of Hecate’s patron spells is cast.

The
ceremony to bond with Hecate must take place within a cemetery, or within a
cavern space dedicated to the Goddess of Witches.

Invoke Patron
check results:

12-13

Hecate
has more important concerns than the caster.
She restores one lost spell to the caster’s mind, and grants a
one-time +4 bonus on a spell check, which must be used in the next 10 minutes
or the bonus is lost.

14-17

Hecate
casts a magical darkness in a 100’ radius, centred on the caster, which lasts
4d8 minutes. The caster and his allies
can see through this darkness with ease, but it grants them a +2 bonus to
Armour Class against their foes (even those that can normally see in
darkness). The caster may spill her
own blood to increase the duration, gaining 10 minutes for each point of
Strength, Stamina, or Agility sacrificed.
The darkness remains centred on the caster and moves with her.

18-19

Witch
armour. For a brief second, crackling
black flames leap around the form of the caster. The caster’s Armour Class is increased by
+1 until the next moon rises. In
addition, the caster may sacrifice Strength, Stamina, or Agility to these
flames, and for each point sacrificed, her Armour Class is increased by +1
until the next moon rises. The black
flames last only a moment, so the choice to make a sacrifice or not must be
made quickly.

20-23

Witch
blade. Hecate transforms the caster’s
weapon of choice (which need not be bladed) into a magical weapon capable of
transmitting the spell power of the caster.
Until the next dawn, the caster may attempt to cast a spell and strike
with the weapon using the same Action Die (the same result applies both to
the attack and the spell check). Only
a spell whose casting time is an action or less can be so cast, and the
caster may not utilize Spellburn when doing so. If both attack and spell check are
successful, the attack does normal damage, and the spell effect takes place affecting the target of the attack only. If a natural “1” is rolled, the caster
suffers the effects of a fumble as well as possible corruption, misfire, and
patron taint, as per the description of the spell being cast.

24-27

A
crack opens in the ground, and 2 hell hounds leap out! These creatures remain for 1d7 minutes or
until destroyed, serving the caster as directed with uncanny
intelligence. When they expire, they
disappear into a searing puff of flame that caused 1d3 damage to any creature
within 5’. See the core rulebook, page
417, for hell hound statistics.

28-29

A
crack opens in the ground, and a pack of 3d3 hell hounds leap out! These creatures remain for 3d7 minutes or
until destroyed, serving the caster as directed with uncanny
intelligence. When they expire, they
disappear into a searing puff of flame that caused 1d3 damage to any creature
within 5’. See the core rulebook, page
417, for hell hound statistics.

30-31

A
rolling darkness spreads forth from the caster, obscuring all vision save for
that of the caster and her allies. The
darkness spreads 50’ per round until it reaches 100’ per Caster Level. As soon as the darkness reaches its maximum
size, from out of its centre leap a pack of 3d7 hell hounds. These hell hounds are obedient to the
caster’s will. The darkness moves with
the caster, and lasts 1d3 hours, or until she dismisses it. The hell hounds remain until 1d3 dawns, or
until slain, at which point they fade out of existence. See the core rulebook, page 417, for hell
hound statistics.

32+

As
above, but the caster’s most powerful enemy present is also cursed as follows (Will DC 20 negates
in all cases): (1) The enemy’s will is
subject to the caster’s, who can command the foe for as long as a single hell
hound from this casting remains, (2) The enemy’s reason is shattered by the
curse, and his mind is reduced to that of an animal for a period of 1d4 days,
(3) The enemy has a permanent –2 penalty to all attack rolls and saving
throws until he meets some condition set by the caster, (4) The enemy is
permanently aged 4d10 years, or (5) The curse causes the enemy to writhe in
agony, losing his next action and causing him 4d6 damage.

Patron Taint: Hecate, Goddess of Witches

When
a patron taint is indicated, roll 1d6 on the table below. When a caster has acquired all six taints
at all levels of effect, there is no need to continue rolling any more.

Roll

Result

1

Shun the Daylight: The Witch-Goddess is a creature of the
night, and Her creatures eventually become nocturnal as well. Each time this patron taint is rolled, the
caster gains a cumulative –1 penalty
to attack rolls, skill checks, and spell checks when these rolls are made in
full daylight. Under an overcast sky,
or under conditions of partial daylight, the caster suffers only half this
penalty, rounded up. This result can
only be gained 5 times, for a maximum –5 penalty.

2

Feel the Moon’s
Tide: Hecate’s magic is tied to the moon, and
this becomes true for the caster as well.
When the moon is waning, the caster has a –2 penalty to all spell
checks. If this result is gained a
second time, the caster also gains a +1 bonus to spell checks when the moon
is waxing. If this result is rolled a
third time, the caster gains a +2 bonus to spell checks on nights when the
moon is full, but cannot cast spells on nights when the moon is dark without
at least 1 point of Spellburn (which affects the spell check normally). In some worlds, there may be more than one
moon, and the judge can either choose to have all moons, or only the primary
moon, count for this purpose. If the
judge does not wish to track the moon’s phases, he can either ignore this
result or use 1d30 to determine the phase of the moon at any given time: (1-3) Dark of the moon, (4-15) Waxing moon,
(16-18) Full moon, (19-30) Waning moon.

3

Withered and Sere: Those who follow the Witch-Goddess seem to
age before their time. When this
result is first rolled, the caster seems to age 1d7 years and loses 1 point
of Stamina. When this result is rolled
a second time, the caster seems to age 2d7 years and loses 2 points of
Strength. When this result is rolled a
third time, the caster seems to age 3d7 years and loses 3 points of
Agility. Ignore further rolls with
this result.

4

Demands of Dark
Magic: In exchange for Her aid and guidance,
Hecate demands special service from the caster. Subject to the judge’s discretion, the
caster must travel 1d4 days to perform some special minor service for
Hecate. This may be to deliver a
prophesy, to aid an aspiring witch, or to perform some other minor
mischief. If this is rolled again, the
caster must make a journey of 1d4 weeks, and the service required is more
extreme. Hecate may demand that a
witch be rescued from bondage (possibly before meeting her end in a bonfire),
that a monster dangerous to women be destroyed, or that a hero be seduced and
his greatest weapon stolen. If this
result is rolled a third time, Hecate demands a great service, which may take
1d4 months to achieve. This may require
the destruction of a powerful monster or hero, or a great wickedness such as
unleashing a terrible creature, or even the destruction of a powerful
stronghold of Law. If these quests are
performed well, Hecate gives the caster a boon of +1d4, +2d4, and +3d4 hit
points respectively. Failure to
perform these quests severs the bond with Hecate.

5

Company of Witches: Hecate demands that the caster bond other
women to Her service. These women need
not be human, and need not be spell casters, but they must be willing,
female, and bonded using the Patron
Bond spell. When this result is
first rolled, Hecate demands but a single woman be bonded, and grants three
months’ time to do so. When this
result is rolled a second time, three women must be bonded, and Hecate grants
a year for the caster to accomplish this.
When this result is rolled a third time, nine women must be bonded in
nine months’ time. In addition, once
the first woman is bonded, all witches recognize the caster as a sister, and
will do her no harm. Failure severs
the bond between the caster and her patron.

6

Night’s Creatures: Natural nocturnal animals desire to be in
the presence of the caster, and will do her no harm. When this patron taint is first rolled,
small creatures, such as mice, rats, bats, and small nocturnal serpents, are
attracted to the caster and remain a while in her presence. When this taint is rolled a second time,
cats come at night to swarm at the caster’s feet in civilized areas, while owls
drop down to her shoulders and perch for a few minutes before flying off to
hunt. When this is rolled a third
time, wolves and nocturnal hunting cats are also attracted to the caster, if
they are in the area. Although these
creatures do no harm to the caster or her allies, neither are they hers to
control – the judge determines their actions, and their effects (positive and
negative) on actions the caster may attempt.
Once this taint is rolled a third time, should the caster ever lose
the patronage of Hecate, these creatures are no longer friendly, and when in
combat will attack the caster in preference to all other targets.

Patron
Spells: Hecate, Goddess of Witches

Hecate grants three unique spells, as follows:

Level 1: Hecate’s Seduction

Level 2: Death Curse

Level 3: Drink the Moon

Spellburn: Hecate,
Goddess of Witches

The
Goddess of Witches is not a kind mistress.
When a caster utilizes spellburn, roll 1d4 on the table below, or
build off the ideas presented therein to create an event specific to your
home campaign.

Roll

Spellburn Result

1

The
caster becomes the plaything of Hecate’s bound demons, and they are not kind
to her. Although it seems as if long
hours pass for the caster, spellburn takes place in a fraction of a second in
the real world. Her resulting
exhaustion and injuries are expressed in Strength, Stamina, and Agility loss.

2

Somewhere
a witch burns, and Hecate demands that the caster ease her suffering by
taking a portion of the witch’s pain upon herself. Roll 1d7 for each ability: Strength, Stamina, and Agility. The caster must pay this in
spellburn, or lose the patronage of Hecate.
In exchange, though, Hecate grants a +4 bonus to the spell check in
addition to that gained by the mandatory spellburn.

3

Hecate
makes a demand of the caster. She may
utilize up to 10 points of spellburn without cost now, but must meet Hecate’s
price. This may be a particular
sacrifice, a quest, or whatever else the judge desires. If the demand is not met in a timely
fashion (as determined by the judge), Hecate takes twice the cost of the
spellburn from the caster, at the moment and from whatever ability scores She
chooses, so as best to punish the caster.

4

Blood
oozes from the caster’s pores, forming a miniature homunculus of the
caster. The spell is cast through the
homunculus, which then immediately collapses into a puddle of blood. The blood drained to create the homunculus
must be expressed in Strength or Stamina loss.

Hecate’s Seduction

Level: 1 (Hecate)

Range: Varies

Duration: Varies

Casting
time: 1 round

Save: Will vs. spell check DC (see text)

General

Those
with Hecate as a patron are encouraged to obtain their goals through indirect
means. One of those means,
particularly beloved of Hecate, is the seduction of men to obtain that which
is desired. This spell causes the
caster to appear irresistibly young and fair to one or more human or humanoid
beings, which can be manipulated by the caster’s suggestions after one or
more nights of passion. This
transformation is illusory, and does not change how the caster truly appears
to any other save the affected target(s).
The caster must have a physical remnant from each target to be
affected (a lock of hair, fingernail parings, etc.), and must perform a
minimum of 1 point of spellburn to cast this spell. The physical remnant is destroyed in the
casting.

Manifestation

See
below.

1

Lost,
failure, and patron taint.

2-11

Lost. Failure.

12-15

The
caster appears in a fair and desirable form to one chosen target, for a
period of one hour. The target feels
no special compulsion toward the caster, although he will usually be
friendly, and may even be helpful. The
target gets no saving throw versus this effect, unless he specifically
disbelieves the illusion.

16-17

The
caster appears in a fair and desirable form to one chosen target, for a
period of 2d12 hours. After contact
with the target – which may be as brief as some conversation or being within
his sight for an extended period – the target is allowed a Will save. If failed, the target finds himself
periodically thinking about the caster for the next 1d7 days, during which
time he saves at any future attempts at Hecate’s
seduction from the same caster with a –4 penalty to the roll. A successful save prevents this secondary
effect from occurring, but does not pierce the illusion.

18-21

The
caster appears in a fair and desirable form to one chosen target, and to up
to 2d12 others in the immediate vicinity of the target, for a period of 1d7
days. The target gains a Will save. If failed, the target finds himself
constantly thinking about the caster over the next 2d7 days, and has a
cumulative –1 penalty to all attack rolls, skill checks, and spell checks for
each day he fails to spend at least one hour in the company of the
caster. A successful save does not
pierce the illusion. If the caster
spends a night of passion with the target during the initial 1d7 days, the
target is charmed as though by a charm
person spell with the same spell check result. See the core rulebook, pp. 131-132 for charm person results.

22-23

The
caster appears in a fair and desirable form to up to three chosen targets,
and to all others in the immediate vicinity of the target(s), for a period of
1d7 days. The targets gain a Will
save. Those who fail find themselves
constantly thinking about the caster over the next 2d7 days, and have a
cumulative –2 penalty to all attack rolls, skill checks, and spell checks for
each day they fails to spend at least one hour in the company of the
caster. A successful save does not
pierce the illusion. If the caster
spends a night of passion with a target during the initial 1d7 days, that
target is charmed as though by a charm
person spell with the same spell check result. The caster may use the spell to create a
rivalry among the targets. If a
rivalry already exists, she can create enmity. If enmity already exists, she can cause it
to erupt into violence. See the core
rulebook, pp. 131-132 for charm person
results.

24-27

As
above, but in addition, the caster may make one suggestion to a target after
any night of passion, and the suggestion will seem reasonable unless the
target makes a separate successful Will save.
If the save is failed, the target will act on any suggestion that is
not obviously suicidal, up to and including giving the caster a prized item,
going on a quest for her, or betraying his friends. If the suggestion would require an action
that the judge agrees is far outside the character of the target, the target
is given another chance to make a Will save when the time comes to actually
carry it out. If this extra save is
successful, the target neither carries out the action nor tells others of it,
but is troubled, and seeks out the caster at the earliest opportunity to
express his doubts.

28-31

As
above, save that the target will carry out even obviously suicidal
suggestions, and only gains an additional save in the event that a suggestion
is obviously suicidal.

32+

As
above. In addition, targets must make
a Will save each day they do not see the caster for at least one hour, or
lose 1 point of Stamina and Personality.
This remains in effect the full 2d7 days. It is possible for a target to die of
longing during this time, if his Stamina is reduced to 0.

Death Curse

Level: 2 (Hecate)

Range: Varies

Duration: Varies

Casting
time: 1 day

Save: Will vs. spell check DC

General

The
Witch-Goddess is a vengeful being, and She teaches those She patronizes how
to seek their own revenge. In a
day-long ritual, the caster formulates a curse that will automatically affect
whatever creature is responsible for her death, no matter how far away. The caster determines the specific nature
of the death curse at the time of
casting. The caster determines which
creature(s) are responsible at the time of her death, from the individual
creature that slew her, to the being that commanded her death, and even to
include her erstwhile companions who abandoned her to her fate. There is no requirement that the caster be fair
in determining who to blame. In fact,
the caster can kill herself, and
still determine which targets are the subject of her curse.

The
results of the spell check limit the death
curse’s power. The cleverness
of the curse’s wording limits its effect. Both judge and player should keep a copy of
the curse’s wording. A caster can only
have one death curse at a time;
casting this spell again negates the current death curse. A caster can
only lay a death curse to take
place upon her own death. Once the
spell is cast, the caster need do no more; the spell remains in effect until
dispelled, removed, replaced by another death curse, or the caster dies (and
the curse takes effect).

The
caster is encouraged to let the effects of her death curse be known (or at least offer dark hints), for many a
would-be witch has avoided the stake simply for fear of the effects killing
her might bring!

Manifestation

The
caster must articulate the manifestation of the death curse, which can include physical changes on the part of
the target, as described below.

1

Lost,
failure, and patron taint. Unlike most
spells, a new attempt cannot be made for 1 month.

2-11

Lost. Failure.
Unlike most spells, a new attempt cannot be made for 1 month.

12-15

Failure,
but spell is not lost.

16-17

The
caster’s curse can affect a single target, causing a –2 penalty to Luck and a
–1 penalty to one other statistic (attack rolls, damage rolls, and ability
score, a saving throw, Armour Class, etc.).
The curse can affect speed, where each –1 penalty equals –5’ in
movement. The curse lasts for up to a
week, or until a specific atonement is performed. The atonement must be something that the
target can do without long travel, but it can be as dear a sacrifice as the
caster desires. It must be something
possible for the target to perform.

18-21

The
caster’s curse can affect a single target, causing a –2 penalty to Luck and a
–2 penalty to one other statistic (attack rolls, damage rolls, and ability
score, a saving throw, Armour Class, etc.).
The curse can affect speed, where each –1 penalty equals –5’ in
movement. Alternatively, the caster
can invoke a specific physical or mental limitation for a week (i.e.,
preventing the target from walking, sleeping, speaking, etc.) The curse lasts for up to two weeks, or
until a specific atonement is performed.
The atonement can require travel of up to 1 week, and can require as
dear a sacrifice as the caster desires.
It must be something possible for the target to perform.

22-23

The
caster’s curse can affect up to three targets, causing each a –2 penalty to
Luck and a –2 penalty to one other statistic (attack rolls, damage rolls, and
ability score, a saving throw, Armour Class, etc.). The curse can affect speed, where each –1
penalty equals –5’ in movement.
Alternatively, the caster can invoke a specific physical or mental
limitation for a month (i.e., preventing the target from walking, sleeping,
speaking, etc.) The curse lasts for up
to two months or until a specific atonement is performed. The atonement can require travel of up to 4
weeks, and can require as dear a sacrifice as the caster desires. It must be something possible for the
target to perform.

24-26

The
caster’s curse can affect up to seven targets, causing each a –2 penalty to
Luck and a –2 penalty to one other statistic (attack rolls, damage rolls, and
ability score, a saving throw, Armour Class, etc.). The curse can affect speed, where each –1
penalty equals –5’ in movement. In
addition, the caster can invoke a specific physical or mental limitation
(i.e., preventing the target from walking, sleeping, speaking, etc.). The curse lasts until a specific atonement
is performed, which must be possible for the targets to perform, but has no
other limitations.

27-31

The
caster’s curse can affect up to 13 targets, causing them ongoing penalties as
above, or transforming them into the shape of animals for up to three months
or until a specific atonement is performed.
The animal shape cannot be one which would be lethal to the targets
(such as being transformed into a goldfish on dry land), but is otherwise open
to the caster’s whim when the curse is devised. The targets retain their own mind and
intelligence.

32-33

The
caster’s curse can affect up to 13 targets, causing them ongoing penalties as
above, or transforming them into the shape of animals as above, until a
specific atonement is performed, or can transform the targets into specific
objects for a period of up to three months.
The objects chosen cannot be ones which would be easily destroyed by
prevailing conditions (such as ice on a summer day, or parchment in a fire or
downpour), but is otherwise open to the caster’s whim when the curse is
devised. The targets retain their own
mind and intelligence, but is not animated (unless the judge deems otherwise
for some reason, such as allowing a doll limited mobility or speech). In the case of transformation to an object,
there must still exist some penance to end the curse, but the penance must be
done by another on the target’s behalf.

34+

The
caster’s curse can affect a group of people:
a family, a community, a village, an adventuring group, the residents
of a castle, etc. The curse can affect
up to 50 people at once, so long as they are part of a single defined group. Each target takes a –4 penalty to Luck and
a –4 penalty that can be divided among one or more statistics (attack rolls,
damage rolls, and ability score, a saving throw, Armour Class, etc.). The curse can affect speed, where each –1
penalty equals –5’ in movement. In
addition, the caster can invoke a specific physical or mental limitation
(i.e., preventing the target from walking, sleeping, speaking, etc.) and the caster can transform up to
three of the targets into animals or objects, which are affected by the Luck
penalty, and which also can be affected by statistical penalties. The curse lasts until a specific atonement
is performed, which must be possible for the targets to perform, but has no
other limitations. In the case of
transformation to an object, there must still exist some penance to end the
curse, but the penance must be done by another on the target’s behalf.

Drink the Moon

Level: 3 (Hecate)

Range: Self

Duration: Varies

Casting
time: 1 hour

Save: None

General

The
caster calls upon the power of the full moon, drinking its essence into
herself to fuel later spell casting. This
ritual can only be performed on a night of the full moon, and the caster may
have only one drink the moon spell
in effect at any given time.
Depending upon the spell check result, and the time of year (which
affects the length of the night), the caster may make multiple attempts at
drinking the moon, but is always left with the final spell check result. Moon energy can be used by the caster in
the place of spellburn for any spellcasting, except that the caster need not
roll to determine the exact nature of the spellburn and there is no risk of
permanent ability score loss. Each
casting of this spell must use at least 2 points of spellburn, which add to
the spell check result normally.

Manifestation

Roll
1d6. The resultant effect occurs only
as long as the caster retains moon energy, and may diminish as the moon
energy is used up, at the judge’s discretion.
(1) The caster’s eyes glow with a whitish gleam in the dark, (2) The
caster appears 1d5 years younger, (3) The caster appears 1d7 years older, (4)
The caster’s hair seems to move and wave of its own accord during the hours
of darkness, (5) The caster’s skin takes on a pearly sheen, (6) No outward
manifestation.

1

Lost,
failure, and patron taint.

2-11

Lost. Failure.

12-15

Failure,
but the spell is not lost.

16-17

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 1 point of
spellburn. This moon energy must be
used within the next 3 days, or it is lost.

18-21

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 1d7 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy must be used within the next 7 days, or it is lost.

22-23

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 2d5 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy must be used within the next 9 days, or it is lost.

24-26

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 2d7 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy must be used within the next 13 days, or it is lost.

27-31

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 3d7 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy remains until used, or until the caster casts drink the moon again.

32-33

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 3d10 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy remains until used, or until the caster casts drink the moon again.

34-35

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 3d14 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy remains until used, or until the caster casts drink the moon again.

36+

The
caster is able to draw enough moon energy into her body to supply 3d20 +
Personality Modifier points of spellburn.
This moon energy remains until used, or until the caster casts drink the moon again.

Monday, 16 July 2012

You will see my artwork in Crawl! #2 and my illustrated Magic Wand spell in Crawl! #3.

I am aiding in playtesting the admirable Transylvanian Adventures, for which I am also producing some artwork. While I don't yet want to talk about specific rules, I will say that (1) there are some really cool ideas here that are usable for any DCC campaign, and (2) I really, really like the sample adventure!

I am working on a series of adventure modules with Purple Duck Games, the first of which (Adventure Locale 1: Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror) is already out and is available via RPG Now, Gumroad, DriveThru RPG and the Paizo webstore. Through the Cotillion of Hours has just been submitted, to go through outside playtesting, possible editing, and (hopefully) approval.

I am also working on patrons (and acting as an editor on the final product of) Angels, Daemons, and Beings Between: A Patron Sourcebook for DCC RPG, which just went live on Indiegogo. I strongly feel that this sourcebook will be of real benefit to DCC judges (and, of course, their players!) as patrons provide so much of the flavour of the DCC magic system....and of many Appendix N novels. I hope you will consider becoming a supporter. I also hope you will help spread the word!

As this project moves forward, I plan on posting some sneak-peaks here on the blog. I will also talk a little about the incentive adventure I am writing for this project, The Revelation of Mulmo.

Friday, 13 July 2012

So, I gathered a group of players together
to help me prep for Free RPG Day
(using Harley Stroh’s impressive The Jeweller Who Dealt in Stardust,
part of Goodman Games’ Free RPG Day
module for 2012). From there, I
convinced them to try a 0-level funnel adventure (Sailors on the Starless Sea,
also by Harley Stroh). My love for the
DCC game waxing strongly, I had to convince these guys that Joseph Goodman & crew are better game
designers than I am; to wit, to switch to DCC from the Savage Tide arc I was
running using my own fantasy heartbreaker, RCFG.

Of some value in this endeavour was that I
had previously played The Portal Under the Stars using the
Beta Playtest with my older daughter and son, and they had enjoyed it. My daughter hadn’t played the more
complex-running RCFG campaign, and didn’t care for any of the other games
(including retroclones) that I had convinced her to try. However, she was willing to play DCC again,
and, moreover, she invited one of her friends to join in. In my books, that is a massive win for DCC.

So, the game began with five players, each
of whom was allowed to generate four characters. Of the players, only my son was really “in
the know” about how to create 0-lvl characters in DCC, my daughter had
relatively little RPG experience, and her friend had none whatsoever. Character creation, however, was fun, and
didn’t seem to take all that long. It is
really fun to hear players excited over high stats, and groan over low stats,
again. The synthesis of random elements
also generates characters that seem to be individuals. Non-human characters, being less common, and
not being there simply for the choosing, become interesting again. Also, as most characters are human, players
learn to fear the dark once more.
Torches and lanterns become important.

Following the module text, I passed out
five rumours, one known to each group of four characters. I gave them their background, and then set
them at the south end of the map, facing the keep. I created a sort of sketch map to give them
an idea what they faced.

Naturally, they went up the causeway toward
the front gate, and were disconcerted when the shuffling corpses of the
blacksmith’s sons, animated by vile tendrils, dislodged themselves from where
they hung, and attacked them. The first
casualties occurred right there. But two
creatures vs. 20 characters, however ill-trained and ill-equipped they might
be, are odds that favour the mob. Losses
were minimal. I was lucky enough to
have a blacksmith in my group, so the blacksmith’s sons detail was appreciated.

One of the things I really like about DCC
is the emphasis on cool effects that can happen when creatures die – in this
case, an explosion of seeds that can infect nearby corpses. You can do this with other games, of course,
but the DCC book actually calls out including effects rather than just a simple
death as being a good idea. And it
really is. The PCs actually tried to
clear the seeds off the causeway, dumping them to either side (coincidently,
where they deposited their own dead!) and proceeded up the causeway to the
gate.

As per the module, the beastmen above try
to catch PCs when they pass under the portcullis. In fact, only one PC initially does so, but
he manages to evade the falling gate, and is trapped on the wrong side. A gong is sounded, and he hears footfalls
running above to the ruined tower where the beastmen are set to make their
stand. The group is therefore given time
to pass through the portal, and gets into the interior of the keep, a grassy
expanse with a gigantic sinkhole, an ominous well, a tower, and sinister-looking
building that is barred from the outside and has the word “repent” scrawled
across it.

For some reason, the players are oddly
attracted to the well. Gazing down to
see how deep it is, a character almost falls in, because perspectives
shift. One of the farmers has a duck,
and, tying the duck to a rope, they repeatedly put it down the well. It comes back up more and more changed. As they repeatedly do so, I call for several
saves to see if the perspective shift drops a would-be duck-dunker into the
well, but no luck. Or too much
luck. No one falls in. The duck is horribly mutated, but luckily
also asleep with its lidless eyes open in its featherless spiny black
skin. They have to carry the now corpulently
obese 50+ lb. duck with them, or leave it here, and they choose to carry it.

Nobody wants to breach the door that is
barred from their side – the building seems like a bad idea – so they turn to
the tower. There are the tracks of many
beastmen heading into it and out. But,
despite very minimal losses thus far, they are hesitant to try the door, and
this is where we leave it that night.

Our average game session runs between 2-4
hours, with a 3 hour game being about average.
There were a lot of rules questions the first time out, especially with
character creation. Although there were
few actual “happenings” in the first session, there was a lot of discussion, a
lot of joking, and a lot of tension.
That the players felt their characters were frail, despite their
relatively few losses, was quite clear.
The well, as I mentioned above, also ate up more session time than
expected.

At this time, the characters are all named,
but I don’t require alignments be chosen until the character is ready for 1st
level. Prior to that, the characters are
simply too insignificant to matter much to the greater powers of Law and
Chaos.

I was very happy to have my older daughter
now choosing to play on a regular basis, in part because her friend was very enthusiastic
about the game (she was the duck farmer!).
At this point, the players seemed to feel that their characters were
very insignificant in the world.
Certainly, they were hesitant about what to do next. There was no clear indication (yet) who our “band”
would be. Our mass of peasants, yeomen,
and ne-er-do-wells was largely an undifferentiated mob.

I ran it once for some strangers on Free RPG Day and they loved it, although we didn't quite get to finish because of time issues. I'm running it again for my gaming group in just a couple of hours.

Basically, it's a fun adventure with some neat monsters and cool treasure at the end. Lots of creepy monsters to kill, lots of rooms to explore. It's a well-written module but very compact. (Only 9 pages, I think. My first reaction was "where is the rest of the module" but the information is well organized and it doesn't need much space.)

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